St Agnes is a village located around 5 miles to the north of Redruth on the main road to Perranporth. It is a very popular holiday destination due to its quaint nature and nearby by beaches. St Agnes also has a strong heritage of industrial activity and association with mining and the surrounding underlying landscape is of made up primarily of Granite which holds extensive veins of various ores and minerals. St Agnes and the surrounding area relied on in its earlier days on fishing and farming and in its later history, Tin and Copper mining and at the peak of the mining industry in Cornwall, it supported around 100 mines and employed over a thousand miners. The mining all came to an end in the mid 1920s but the remains and workings of these mines can still be seen today.

History of St Agnes.

It is not certain when St Agnes first became a village, but its Cornish name, Bryanick, would seem to indicate that there was a settlement of some kind in the medieval period from around 500 - 600 AD. Nearby earth workings do seem to back up this view, however, there have also been finds of both late Stone Age and Bronze Age settlements in the immediate surrounding areas, so it is very possible that like much of Cornwall, it has been inhabited for at least 4000 years. It may also have attracted Bronze Age settlers because of its rich Tin and Copper deposits which were in those days much in demand for producing bronze. There is also a 15th Century church there which may have been built on or near a much earlier church building, so given its close proximity to the coast and nearby by beaches which would have supported a fishing industry from just before the Norman Invasion in 1066, it is very possible that it has been a village type settlement for nearly 1500 years.

The Harbour.

Due to its location, St Agnes's beaches do tend to get pounded by the Atlantic waves and there have been many attempts to build and retain a harbour there over the last few centuries. The Tonkin family who were the lords of the manor of Trevaunance, are a case in point and tried, unsuccessfully to create a harbour in 1632, 1684, 1699 and finally in 1709 which left them in considerable debt. Someone else had a go and built one in 1710 only for it to be completely washed away in 1730. However, with the high demand in Copper ore which began in the mid 18th Century, a new harbour was constructed in 1798, which lasted a lot longer than the others,for the export of the locally sourced Copper ore to be exported. In the early 19th Century a successful pilchard fishing industry also began to operate from the harbour but by 1833 it had mostly declined. The harbour was then remained a busy port until the " new "harbour ( the one built ion 1798 ) was completely destroyed in a storm in 1916. Its remains still be seen, although all you really see today are a pile of square cut stones and a few pieces of the original wall still intact.

Local landmarks.

There are a number of landmarks in and around St Agnes that deserve mention. St Agnes derives its name from the old Cornish word Bryanick which means pointed or prominent hill and nearby is St Agnes Beacon, which now owned by the National Trust, is a hill that rises to around 630 ft. The top of St Agnes' Beacon offers stunning views of the cliffs from St Ives in the south to Padstow in the North and inland views of Carrick and the edge of Penryn off to the east. To the northwest foot of the beacon is Cameron Quarry and the St Agnes Beacon Pits which are both SSSI's ( sites of special scientific interest ) because of their stunning geology and rock formations.
Trevaunance Cove is a another SSSI and quite apart from its stunning beach location, it is of national importance because of its mining heritage.

Bolster's Dyke at Chapel Porth.

Chapel Porth is a lovely beach very popular with surfers, however, it also has a large earthen bulwark called Bolster's Dyke which is believed to date from around 500 AD but is also associated with the legend of Bolster the Giant. Bolster's Dyke originally ran from Chapel Porth to Trevaunance Cove and according to legend, Bolster who was a local giant, fell in love with a young maiden called Agnes. To prove that he really loved her, Agnes demanded he fill a small hole at the edge of the cliff with his blood and thinking it was just a small cave, Bolster willingly obliged, however, what he didn't know was that the hole was in fact bottomless and also opened out into the sea so he continued to fill it with his blood until he became very weak and fell into the sea and drown. We're not so sure about the legend but the blood stained cave can be seen at Chapel Porth beach. It is also worth pointing out as well that St Agnes holds a festival dedicated to Bolster the Giant in May every year where an effigy of Bolster is made and moved along the Dyke so maybe its all true after all. But whether it is or not, if a woman named Agnes ever asks you to give blood to prove that you love her, just remember poor old Bolster.

Mining in St Agnes - Wheal Coates.

St Agnes has an extensive mining history and has perhaps one of the worlds best known tin mines, Wheal Coates, which is situated nearby on the cliff tops to the south of St Agnes. Wheal’ is Cornish for ‘place of work’, not 'mine' as is often stated. Wheal Coates was worked for centuries but the surviving buildings date from the 1870s when deep underground mining began at the site and were stabilised and preserved in 1986. The ruins visible today are the remains of three engine houses, Towanroath Pumping Engine House (1872) which was used to pump water from the adjacent 600 ft Towanroath shaft, Whim Engine House which was added in 1880 to crush ore for processing and a Calciner dating from 1910–1913 which was used to roast the tin ore to remove impurities. In 1881, around 140 people were employed at the site to mine a seam of tin just below sea level but this and a subsequent period of operation from 1911-1913 were not very successful as the mines eventually closed in 1914. Today the site is owned and and maintained by the National Trust.

Blue Hills Tin Streams.

The Blue Hills Tin Streams are situated in Jericho Valley where tin has been produced for centuries. Early tin miners worked the alluvial sands and gravel that littered the valley and beaches, but in order to get increased production, in the late 18th Century mine shafts were dug into the hillsides and deep below the valley floor to follow the veins of tin ore. It was so successful that by around 1812 all the smaller mines were merged and incorporated into the Blue Hills Sett, which continued to employ 100 men until it's closure in 1897. However,on a much smaller scale, tin production continues up until the present day.

Wheal Coates engine house

Wheal Coates engine house ruins

Wheal Coates mine ruins

Wheal Coates mine ruins

Blue Hills Tin Mines

Blue Hills Tin Mine workings

Blue Hills Tin Mine ruins

Blue Hills Tin Mine workings bridge

Beaches at St Agnes.

St Agnes has its own beach, Trevaunance Cove which is also known locally as Aggie's beach which whilst small, does have lots of sand and really opens out when the tide is out. There is lots of parking, some shops and places to eat and drink and also has its own Lifeguard station so it is very family friendly and because it does see its fair share of very rough and storm seas, it is also a good place to watch the surf when swimming is not possible. Nearby beaches are Chapel Porth which is
renowned for its great surf and the fact at low tide you can literally walk for miles as at low
tide the white sands stretch on to
the next beach at Porthtowan. Porthowan is a small village with an excellent
white sandy beach ideal for
families and which is popular with
swimmers and surfers alike. There is another beach nearby called Trevellas Porth, but this is very rocky and pebbly and swimming is not recommended, although it is very popular with fisherman and divers.

Trevaunance Cove Beach

Trevaunance Cove Beach

Chapel Porth Beach

Chapel Porth Beach

Porthtowan Beach

Porthtowan Beach

Trevellas Porth Beach

Trevellas Porth Beach

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